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Patient Safety: Core Concepts
Patient safety focuses on reducing avoidable harm through safer systems, prevention and learning.
#Safety concerns harm associated with care
WHO describes patient safety in terms of preventing avoidable harm and reducing unnecessary risk associated with health care. It includes organized work on processes, behaviours, technology and the environment in which care is delivered.
Medication errors, diagnostic errors, infections associated with care and patient misidentification are among the examples WHO discusses. Safety is therefore broader than whether one treatment works. It also concerns how care is delivered and how risks are recognized.
Evidence: WHO: patient safety and systems thinking
#Look at the system around an error
WHO explains that harm can arise from interacting organizational, technological, human and other factors. Poor coordination, communication problems, fatigue and problems with information systems can contribute to an incident.
A systems approach asks how working conditions and processes made an error possible. It does not mean overlooking negligence or misconduct. Read whether an account examines contributing conditions rather than stopping at the last person involved.
Evidence: WHO: patient safety and systems thinking
#Patients and staff are part of prevention
WHO includes leadership, a safe working environment, staff competence, teamwork and patient and family engagement among the activities supporting safety. The Australian Commission's 2026 model likewise connects leadership, patient partnership and workforce culture with high-quality care.
These are connected responsibilities, not a claim that a checklist or one training session removes every risk. The Australian model is written for its acute-sector health services; it is an example of a governance approach, not a universal legal requirement.
Evidence: WHO: patient safety and systems thinking / Australian Commission: national clinical governance model (2026)
#Learning needs action and follow-up
WHO identifies incident reporting for learning and improvement as part of a safer system. PSNet describes follow-up that includes investigation, communication and system changes, with measures to assess whether improvements work.
Recording an event is not the same as preventing its recurrence. Read what changed and how that change was checked. This page explains safety concepts; it does not describe a Mynd hospital, safety programme or channel for reporting a clinical incident.
Evidence: WHO: patient safety and systems thinking / PSNet: responding to patient safety events (2025)
Source note
The sections above were checked against the linked sources. No clinical review has been performed. This is general research education, not a clinical guideline.